The New 52
The sudden and complete revision of the DCU has presented a problem of interpretation for the Hypercrisis. Several theories have been presented, none are considered the definitive answer at this point. Perhaps Multiversity will provide the solution. Shock Theory The New 52 was the DC universe going into shock. Sure, post-Final Crisis DC had good moments, and Blackest Night was strong, but DC had been sick for a while before and after those events. I'm not saying that the New 52 fixed everything, but it was a reaction to illness. The DC Universe is still essentially the same organism it was before Flashpoint. Not only do we have Goeff Johns and Grant Morrison playing with echoes of pre-Crisis and post-Crisis DC, but there are entire sections of the universe where it's supposed to be assumed that all pre-Flashpoint things still occurred, somehow. It's just more implicit than explicit now, woven into such areas as Swamp Thing, where the story is still the same, or in the realm of the Green Lanterns, with crisis events being casually referenced. Multiverse Crossing Theory With Flashpoint, three previously separate universes became one forward and backward in time. (Are any characters aware of this? Pandora? Barry Allen?) With the evil Justice League attacking in Forever Evil, we have another universe intersecting. Earth 2 is out there doing its thing. We have Huntress and Power Girl running around. There was also the crossover in Batman/Superman. Perhaps, with all the weeklies ending at the same time, we'll get something more? I think it's safe to assume it all works the same as it did before: Speed Force / Bleed / multiversal superstructure. If anything, this seems like a bandaid over a bulletwound. After Final Crisis and Blackest Night / General Green Lantern Shenanigans, the universe was in pretty rough shape. Apparently Flashpoint was the final straw. Existential Crisis Theory Flashpoint was more of an existential crisis. The DC universe has always been conscious, but it didn't really become self-aware until Seven Soldiers of Victory and Final Crisis. The DC Universe could have just panicked after realizing how shit it was and gone full teenage-rebellion/mid-life crisis. Immune Response Theory Crisises and reboots are like an immune response in the organism that is the DC Universe, allowing it to throw out the parts of itself and its continuity that don't work and keep the parts that do. You get a fever from immune responses, hence the large number of not-great books that came out at the beginning of the nu52. But now the fever's gone, things are settled down, and we're getting lots of great books. Ultimate Universe Emulation Lest we forget, DC is gearing up for movies, and they need all the different takes on their characters that they can get. It's hard to deny the influence of the Ultimate line on the Marvel films, and I've been harbouring thoughts for a while now that the New 52 is essentially the DC version of that line - a more densely-interconnected re-imagining of their existing universe. This would also make sense in that the DC Universe would want the success that comes from popular films, since that would generate more readers, and make the DCU more powerful, so it would presumably do everything in its power to be as filmable as possible.